Latrine-incinerator.



E. U. LEWIS.

LATRINE INGINERATOR.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 11, 1910.

Patented Aug. 12, 1913.

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UFHTED 3'17 PATN EDVTARD C. LEWIS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINQIS, ASSIGNOB TO LEWIS & KITCHEN, 01? CHI- CAGO, ILLINOIS, A COPARTNERSHIP GOMPOSED OF EDWARD C. LEWIS AND JOHN H. KITCHEN.

LATEINE-INCINEBATOR.

1&7 1,045.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 12,1913.

To all whom, it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD C. LEWIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Latrine Incinerators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to latrine incinerators and has special reference to a form of latrine which is adapted to be used in military camps or other places where water is not available.

1 am aware of the fact that latrines have been used heretofore which dispense with the use of water but one of the fundamental objects of my invention is to burn the excreta by means of heat and to sterilize and keep clean the various parts of the apparatus.

In order to carry out my invent-ion in its preferred form I provide in the central portion of the latrine a furnace which is adapted to have a bed of fuel on the grate bars and beneath the latter an ash pit of any well-known type. Around this central furnace are arranged a number of bowls with their accompanying seats, each bowl also being provided with a cover. Alternating with and between the bowls are urinals which communicate with a trough or troughs on the inner portion of the casing which forms the furnace or incinerator proper. In connection with each bowl is provided mechanism for carrying the excreta from the bowl into the furnace and onto the bed of fuel whereby such excreta are burned. This mechanism consists of a plurality of blades attached to a shaft, said shaft being operated by means of suitable gearing actuated by a lever or handle which is connected with a suitable ratchet by means of a pawl.

It will be apparent from this general description of my invention that not only are the excreta burned and thus rendered innocuous and the urine which is contained in the troughs evaporated, but the various parts of the appliance, and in particular the conveyer blades in the bowls, are sterilized by contact with the heat from the burning of the fuel in the incinerator.

These and other advantages of my improved invention will be more apparent by reference to the accompanying drawings which represent a preferred embodiment of my device and in which,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the incinerator showing the various parts in position; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the incinerator showing the grate and parts of the mechanism operating in the bowls; Fig. 3 is a Vertical section through the incinerator on the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a vertical section through one of the bowls and its associated mechanism; and, Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section through a portion of the incinerator showing one of the urinals and the trough into which the latter empties.

The incinerator has a base 10 and an inclosing casing 11 with which are associated the extension 12 having the fire-door 13 and the extension 14 having the door 15 com municating with the ash pit 16. Within the casing 11 is provided the grate 17. The up per portion 18 of the incinerator, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, may be hexagonal in shape and has the top 19 terminating in the outlet 20 for the escape of the products of combustion. With this outlet 20 a chimney or stack may be connected if this is found to be of advantage in special cases. Although I have mentioned the incinerator as being hexagonal in shape I do not limit myself to this particular shape inasmuch as it may contain any desirable number of sides or may be of any shape without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Connected with each side of the casing 18 is a bowl 21 having a seat 22 and a cover 23. A vertical shaft 2 1 is located near the inner portion of the bowl 21 and to this shaft are connected the blades 25 of which there are preferably six, so that a blade will not be directly under the central line of the opening in the seat 22 when the blades are in position shown in Fig. 2. On the upper end of the shaft 24 is the bevel gear 26 which is in mesh with the bevel gear 27 on the end of the horizontal shaft 28 which has its bearings in the brackets 29 and 30. On the outer end of the shaft 28 is the lever or handle 32 connected with the ratchet 31 by means of the pawl 33. It will be evident that as the handle 32 is raised and lowered the shaft 28 will be rotated thereby causing the rotation of the shaft 24 with its attached blades 25. As clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 1 the blades 25 are of such shape that they fit accurately in the bottom of the bowl 21 and as these blades are rotated any excreta or other material contained in the bowl will be delivered to the bed of fuel which rests on the grate bars 17 and is within the casing 18. Hanging from the top 21 of each bowl 21 are the metallic curtains 25 supported by the hinges 25". The lower edges of these curtains are just clear of the upper edges of the blades 25. The curtains 25 cooperate with the two blades 25 which occupy a position across bowl 21, as shown in Fig. 4:, to prevent access of heat to the outer portion of the bowl and an excessive draft from the bowl to the incinerator chamber. On the other hand, inasmuch as the curtains 25 are hinged, if any large object, such as a newspaper is placed in the bowl, its passage to the bed of fuel is readily afiected by rotation of the blades 25, since the object will swing the curtain 25 with which it comes in contact and easily pass under the same.

Alternating with the seats 21 are the urinals 34E each of which is provided with a cover 35 hinged at 36. Each of these urinals is connected with a trough 37 lo cated on the inside of the casing 18. These troughs are preferably made as unitary structures, a single one connected with a single urinal, but if desired these troughs may be made continuous, all of the urinals emptying into such a continuous trough.

Having thus described the construction of the various parts employed in my improved incinerator its operation will be evident. The covers 23 are normally kept closed on the seats 22 and the covers 35 of the urinals are also kept closed. The urine from any one of the urinals 34 is evaporated in its corresponding trough 87 by the action of the fuel within the incinerator, this heat being sufficiently high to completely volatilize the urine and to sterilize such troughs. In order to use one ,of the bowls 21 the cover 23 is raised and the excreta and other materials are then transferred to the body of fuel as previously explained by moving the handle 32 up and down thereby rotating the blades 25. I prefer to cause rotation of blades 25 when the handle 32 is moved up, as its own weight will then cause it to return to its lower normal position. By

falling directly on the fuel'the excreta are,

completely burned and all danger of disease is thus effectively prevented. At the same time it will be observed that the blades 25 which project inwardly within the casing 18 are subjected to a sufficient heat to cause absolute sterilization.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that considerable change could be made in the detailed construction of the parts which I have described without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a latrine incinerator, the combination of a furnace, a bowl communicating with said furnace, and means operating successively within the bowl and then within the furnace area for delivering the contents from the bowl to the furnace, substantially as described.

2. In a latrine incinerator, the combination of a furnace, a bowl communicating with said furnace, and a sweep movable from within the .bowl into .the furnace area for delivering .the contents from the bowl to the furnace, substantially as described.

3. In a latrine incinerator, the combination of a furnace chamber, a bowl communicating with said chamber, and a rotatable sweep within. said bowl and extending into the chamber for delivering the contents of the bowl .to said chamber, substantially as described.

4. In a latrine incinerator, the combination of a furnace chamber, a bowl communicating withsaid chamber, and means for scraping the contents of said bowl therefrom and carrying the same to said chamber, said scraping means projecting into the furnace chamber and thereby being sterilized, substantially as described.

5. In a latrine incinerator, the combination of a furnace chamber, a stationary bowl communicating with said chamber, and a rotatable sweep for scraping the contents of said bowl from the same and delivering it to said chamber, said sweep projecting into the chamber and thereby being sterilized, substantially as described.

6. In a latrine incinerator, the combination of a furnace chamber, a bowl communicating with said chamber, a rotatable shaft eccentrically mounted within said bowl, an upright blade attached to said shaft and fitting the bottom of said bowl, and means for rotating said shaft whereby the blade operates within the bowl and chamber and the excreta and the like contained in said bowl are scraped from the bowl and delivered to the furnace chamber, substantially as described. i

7. In a latrine incinerator, the combination of afurnace chamber, a bowl communicating with said chamber, a rotatable shaft within said bowl, and a blade attached to said shaft and fitting the bottom of said bowl, the said bladeduring the rotation of said shaft adapted to scrape excreta and the like from the bowl into the furnace chamber and to project therein whereby the blade will become sterilized from the heat within the said chamber, substantially as described.

8. In a latrine incinerator, the combina tion of a furnace chamber, a bowl communicating with said chamber, a scraper for delivering the contents of said bowl to said chamber, and swinging means between said bowl and said furnace chamber for decreasing the draft through said bowl and adapted to allow movement of the scraper and the passage from said bowl to said furnace chamber of an object of greater height than said scraper, substantially as described.

9. In a latrine incinerator, the combination of a furnace chamber, a bowl communieating with said chamber, a rotatable shaft within said bowl, a blade attached to said shaft and fitting the bottom of said bowl, means for rotating said shaft whereby eX- creta and the like contained in said bowl are delivered to the furnace chamber, and a swinging curtain above said blade, whereby the draft between said bowl and said chamber is decreased and the passage of objects of greater height than said blade is permitted, substantially as described.

10. In a lat-rine incinerator, the combination of a furnace chamber, a bowl communieating with said chamber, a vertical shaft in said bowl, a plurality of blades on said shaft and fitting the bottom of said bowl,

means for rotating said shaft whereby said blades convey the contents of said bowl to said furnace chamber, and a movable curtain between the bowl and the furnace chamber, substantially as described.

11. In a latrine incinerator, the combination of a furnace chamber, a bowl communieating with said chamber, a rotatable shaft within said bowl, a blade attached to said shaft and fitting the bottom of said bowl, means for rotating said shaft whereby excreta and the like contained in said bowl are delivered to the furnace chamber, and a pair of swinging curtains above said blades on opposite sides of said shaft, whereby the opening from the bowl to the furnace cham ber is substantially closed and the passage from the former to the latter of objects of greater height than the blades is readily permitted, substantially as described.

EDWVARD C. LEWIS.

VVit-nesses HENRY M. HUXLEY, 'WALTER M. FULLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G. 

